Good News....BUT...

O-kay, first the "Good News":

As of March 21, 2007, yesterday, I was finally APPROVED for my Disability claim.

I was found to be "permanently and medically Disabled" by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).

...now for the "but"....

When I first filed, June1, 2006, I was advised that once I was approved (if approved, of course), payments would be retro-active for a year from the filing date.
Which means that I should have recieved back-pay from June 2005 to June 2006, plus the months since filing, July 2006 to now (March 2007).
A total of 22 months.

According to the RRB, it was found that my Disability began January of 2007, of which I could receive one month back from then, from December 2006.
BUT I also need to wait one more month until the payment is calculated and can begin.
(The huge file they have for my Medical Records, going all the way back to 1996 is not enough to prove I was disabled before January of this year for some reason, even though I haven't been able to afford to see any of my doctors since February of 2006!)

Back in June 2006 they gave me a number of what my monthly check would be (which I won't divulge here), but that now has to be "recalculated" for some reason - PLUS I won't even know any of that for another month (mid-to-late-April)!!

They are sending out a packet with my approval and explanation, and how to appeal their decision.
I can appeal, which I most likely will
(I was expecting TWENTY-TWO months back-pay, not FOUR!)

I won't even be able to repay my folks for all the money I have been forced to borrow from them!
I had every intention of paying them back every penny they've loaned me, and I would have been able to, comfortably, with 22 months back-pay....but not any more. That's what hurts the most.

So, even though they finally made a decision, they are still screwing with me.


RobMac